Holiday Gift Monday: The post that was

This post was supposed to be the final one in the series. But, that was before some left-over birthday cheesecake, a sinus infection and the kids conspired against me.

This last gift is still unfinished and I had been using this posting date as my deadline. Obviously, I blew it out of the water. I don't say this with shame, knitting something beautiful (and big) takes a long time. I know that. It's just that I planned to be done with the vest by today and it didn't work out. Maybe I should blame those adorable baby hats from the last post? So, I will delay photos and more discussion until it is done and you can see it in all it's blocked, and finished glory. It's going to be beautiful.

More Earflap Hats

Here's two more off the needles. They are so easy and quick to make! One is in a beautiful sage green and the other is a nice chocolate brown with a purple/blue argyle pattern. They are both sized for 9-18 mo. old babes. The sage green hat is 100% wool, and the argyle hat is a combination of wool and acrylic, so it can be washed and dryed in the machine without worry. Not sure who the recipients of these hats will be yet.

The argyle hat was my first return to color knitting since I finished my mittens. It went well, so it seems that I've got the hang of two- and three-color knitting in worsted weight yarns. Now it might be time to tackle some in fingering weight. One thing I can't figure out is how to keep my colors from twisting all around each other. I don't mind on small projects like this, but if I were to ever tackle a larger project I'd definitely want to get it under control. Any advice from other knitters out there? Do bobbins work?

My neighbor brought her newborn by for a quick visit last week. The newborn-sized red hat fits her perfectly!

Holiday Gift Monday: These are for me!

This lovely stack of books were given to me by various family members for the holidays. I'm enjoying lots of time with each of them over my morning coffee.

I had gotten the Sara Foster cookbook and the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving from the library this past fall and loved them. I'm so happy to have them as part of my own library. The other three books are new to me, but they are astounding. I can't wait to give some of the Eco Crafts a try and the knitting book is a lovely reference with some great patterns and designs. The gardening book, The Earth Knows My Name, is an incredible essay on gardening and immigration.

We are coming to the end of the holiday gift series, only one more handmade gift to share next week. I definately cut back on my handmade/homemade gifts this year, and, I admit I was less stressed in the end. This year, in many ways, our home was literally a gift; hosting our whole family under one roof for two special nights.

In addition to what I crafted, I also purchased one gift on etsy (a holiday Sesame Street themed polar fleece blanket), gave one gift of fabric from the local fabric shop (two yards of Amy Butler) and gave away lots and lots of homemade yum (cherry jam, biscotti and homemade apple pie filling). And, as an alternative to homemade, I tried my best to purchase store-bought gifts locally. With only four gifts (2 books and 2 gift cards) coming from big box stores I definately fulfilled my 3/50 goal for December.

ps. Happy 33rd Birthday to me!

FO: TTL Mystery Sock KAL '09

I finished these lovely socks early one morning last week. They were supposed to be done last year; they were part of the '09 Mystery Sock Knitalong (blogged here), hosted by Through the Loops. But life and the holidays got in the way. In the end they turned out great in two ways, and not so great in one other.

I ran out of the yarn while knitting these and had to bring in a third skein. The colors match perfectly [great!]. But they were different yarns. The two skeins I started with - purchased on sale last year - were six-ply. I knew this would mean a pretty thick sock, but hey, they were on sale.

The third skein I found from a seller on ravelry was a 4-ply, which I didn't realize until I received it in the mail. It is more like a standard sock yarn, and it's definitely thinner than the two skeins I started with. So the socks are thick up to the toes and then thin out [not so great]. Not sure how this will wear, but I think it will be fine. And really it's the kind of thing that only a knitter would notice.

The yarn, obviously, shows off the stitch pattern really well [great!]. It is so clear, and beautiful. There is no missing the artistry and genius in the pattern for this pair of socks. If you want to knit your own pair you can find the pattern here.

Only nine more months to go until the next Mystery Sock Knitalong [great!].